HRM gaining a competitive advantage noe ch014

Human Resource Management:Gaining a Competitive Advantage Chapter 14 Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations... Learning Objectives Describe collective bargaining and labor relations

Human Resource Management:

Gaining a Competitive Advantage

Chapter 14 Collective Bargaining and Labor

Relations

Learning Objectives

 Describe collective bargaining and labor relations.

 Identify labor relations, goals of management, labor

unions and society.

 Explain legal environment's impact on labor relations.

 Describe major labor-management interactions:

organizing, contract negotiations and contract

administration.

 Describe new, less adversarial approaches to

labor-management relations.

 Explain how changes in competitive challenges are

influencing labor-management interactions.

 Explain how labor relations in the public and private

sectors differ.

Labor Relations Framework

4 Elements of John Dunlop’s Labor Relations System

Labor Relations Framework

Competitive Challenges

- Legal

- Stakeholder Needs

- High-performance Work Systems

Goal Attainment

 Society

 Labor unions' major benefit to society has been balancing

power and institutionalization of industrial conflict in the

least costly way

 National Labor Relations Act (NLRA, 1935) provides a

legal framework conducive to collective bargaining.

 Management

 decides to encourage or discourage unionization

 Labor Unions

 seek to give workers through collective action formal and

independent voice in setting employment terms and

conditions

Union Structure, Administration & Membership

 National and International Unions

day-to- AFL-CIO

 Not a union but rather an association that

Union Security

Check off Provision

Reasons for Decline

in U.S Union Membership

Legal Framework

 Wagner Act of 1935 (NLRA) enshrined collective

bargaining as the preferred mechanism for settling

labor-management disputes

 Section 7 of the NLRA: employees have the

"right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist

labor organizations, to bargain collectively through

representatives of their own choosing and to

engage in other concerted activities for the purpose

of collective bargaining."

Unfair Labor Practices (ULPs)

 NLRA prohibits certain activities by both employers

and labor unions

 Employers cannot:

 interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in exercising

their Section 7 rights.

 dominate or interfere with a union.

 discriminate against an individual for exercising his or her

right to join or assist a union.

 discriminate against employees for providing testimony

relevant to enforcement of the NLRA

 refuse to bargain collectively with a certified union.

Unfair Labor Practices - Unions

 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

enforces NLRA.

 NLRB is a five-member board appointed by the

president with 33 regional offices

 NLRB’s 2 Major Functions:

1 conduct and certify representation elections

2 prevent unfair labor practices

 ULP charges are filed at and investigated by the

regional offices

Why Do Employees Join Unions?

Process &Legal Framework of Organizing

 An election may be held if at least 30%of employees in the

bargaining unit sign authorization cards.

 Secret ballot election will be held The union is certified by

NLRB if a simple majority of employees vote for it.

 Decertification election may be held if no other election has

been held within the year or if no contract is in force.

 Certain categories of employees cannot be included in

bargaining units- agricultural laborers, independent contractors, supervisors, and managers.

Organizing Campaigns

 NLRB may set aside election results if the

employer created an atmosphere of confusion or

fear of reprisals

 Associate union membership- union receives

dues in exchange for services but does not

provide representation in collective bargaining

 Corporate campaigns bring public, financial or

political pressure on employers during the

organizing and negotiating process

Union and Management Interactions:

Negotiation Process

Distributive Bargaining

- Win/Win

Attitudinal Structuring

Preparing Managers for Negotiations

 7 Steps:

1 Establish interdepartmental contract objectives

2 Review old contract

3 Prepare and analyze data

4 Anticipate union demands

5 Establish costs of various contract provisions

6 Make preparations for a strike

7 Determine strategy and logistics

Negotiation Stages and Tactics

Negotiation Stages and Tactics

 Early stages may include many individuals, as

union proposals are presented

 Middle stages, each side makes decisions

regarding priorities, theirs and the other parties'

 Final stage, momentum may build toward

settlement or pressure may build as impasse

becomes more apparent May involve interaction

with negotiators or facilitators

Management’s Willingness to

Take a Strike

4 Availability of Replacement Workers

5 Multiple Production Sites and Staggered

Contracts

6 Integrated Facilities

7 Lack of Substitutes for Product

Alternatives to Strikes

 Mediation - Has no formal authority to force a

solution; acts as a facilitator for parties

 Fact finder - Investigates and reports on

reasons for dispute and both sides' positions

 Arbitration -process through which a neutral

party makes a final and binding decision

Grievance Procedure

 Negotiation process occurs every three years

 Negotiation and administration processes are

linked.

 Effectiveness of grievance procedures may be

judged on three criteria:

1 How well are day-to-day problems resolved?

2 How well does the process adjust to changing

circumstances?

3 In multi-unit contracts, how well does the

process handle local contract issues?

Grievance Procedure

 Arbitration is a final and binding step.

 Criteria arbitrators used to reach decisions include:

1 Did the employee know the rule and the

consequences of violating it?

2 Was the rule applied in a consistent and

predictable way?

3 Were the facts collected in a fair and systematic

way?

4 Did the employee have the right to question the

facts and present a defense?

5 Does the employee have the right of appeal?

New Labor Management Strategies

Labor Relations Outcomes

• Strikes- impose significant costs on union members,

employers, and society.

 Wages and Benefits

 In 2008, private-sector unionized workers received

21% higher wages that nonunion counterparts.

 Total compensation was 40 % higher for union-covered

employees because of unions’ effect on benefits.

 Productivity effects of unions is debated.

 Union workers are more productive than nonunion

workers although the explanation is unclear.

 Profits and Stock Performance- may suffer under

unionization if costs are raised

International Context

 Except for China, Russia and Ukraine, U.S has

more union members than any other country

 Growing globalization of markets will continue to

put pressure on labor costs and productivity

 U.S differs from W Europe in formal worker

participation in decision-making

Public Sector

 2008 some 36.8 % of government employees

were union members

 Strikes are illegal at the federal level and in many

states for government workers

 In 2008, 3 of 15 major work stoppages were

in the public sector

 Management and unions are seeking new, more effective

ways of working together to enhance competitiveness while

giving employees a voice in workplace decisions.